6-11-12, Palisades Reservoir, ID - The morning was spent trekking down the Snake River Canyon. In the early afternoon, I reached the town of Alpine and shortly thereafter crossed into Idaho. Tonight, We’re camped about a mile inside Idaho, on the shore of the Palisades Reservoir.

Dawn came with clear skies and only a gentle breeze. After two cloudy days and raw weather, I was more than ready for a change. So, with high spirits, I went about the business of getting the show on the road.

“Come with me boys and girls and I’ll take you down the canyon of mysteries to a fabulous place”, says Doc the magical horse.

The Snake River Canyon is a very beautiful place. Very steep, spruce covered mountainsides descend right down to the water’s edge. Interspersed with the tree covered slopes are buttresses of sharp rock and mountain tops covered with snow. At the bottom of the valley, the swirling waters of the River make their way rapidly downstream.

Down the Snake River Canyon.

Just after lunch, we passed the large rapids know as the ‘Lunch Counter’. 40 years ago, almost to the day, I peered over the back of my comrades seated in the forward section of a raft and gasped at the shear size and power of the rapids. At that moment, a thirteen year old Wagonteamster said, “One day I’m going to take a trek down this canyon in a nice, comfortable, horse-drawn wagon”. And as the raft pitched steeply up a huge wave and the guide lost an oar, I went on to think, “This rafting stuff is for the birds, Lord, give me some good horses!”

And here I am, forty years later!

Where the Snake River gentles down as it reaches the calm waters of Palisades Lake, lies the small town of Alpine. The lads and I stopped in town long enough to fill up a few water jugs at the local gas station.

Just a couple of miles down the road, we entered the great State of Idaho. This will be the first of two times I’ll cross into Idaho. Close to West Yellowstone, I’ll cross into Montana, only to cut back through the northern part of the State when I head west to Washington.

B.O.B. was somewhat putout that the State sign didn’t have cool looking dinosaurs (Utah) or a horse pitching off a cowboy (Wyoming).

A mile inside Idaho I saw some really great camping spots down by the lake. So after a little on-foot recon, to make sure I could get back out again, I headed down to the lake shore. Right now, the lads and I are set up like kings.

I’ll let the pictures and the captions tell the story of our great camp and I’ll have a little bit to say at the end.

The lads are really into two things, in this order: Plenty of really good grass and ambiance. I guess they hit the jackpot this time.

Greeting us on the lake were a couple dozen pelicans. I’m not sure of the type, but I think they are ‘American White Pelicans’. By the way, the mystery bird I posted last week - I think they were Sandhill Cranes, just in their summer molt. I’m used to seeing them in their normal gray plumage.

Here’s one of the Pelicans in flight. If anybody has any specifics on these birds, please feel free to chime in.

You want a dirty horse - get a gray. If I can coax him into it and the water isn’t too cold, Doc and I are taking a bath tomorrow.

During the daylight hours, I’m letting one of the lads at a time roam free and pretend their are one of the wild bunch. Here, Billy is trying out his wild horse pose, similar to the picture of the wild mare I took in April, on the trip to the Rio Grande River.

“Hey B.O.B., what do you think of your new surroundings?”

B.O.B. - “You know, when I get to Hollywood, I’m going to do most of my own stunt work!”

Meanwhile, the ‘Ol Wagonteamster is suffering through some real trials here in the Idaho wilderness. “I could have used with just a tad more of my secret Texas Barbecue rub on my elk meat sausages!”

I’ve decided to declare tomorrow a National Holiday and take the day off here by the lake. You can stay home from work as well. Just tell your boss that the President of the Wagonteamster Association said, “Stay Home America”.